For many years, manufacturers have used plastic bags to package a wide variety of products. In some industries, it is desirable to provide a plastic bag that can be repetitively opened and sealed by the consumer. For example, bread is often enclosed in a plastic bag that is bound with a twist-tie. The twist-tie closure allows the consumer to open and close the bag multiple times, thereby extending the use of the bag for the life of the product.
Although twist-ties are favored for their inexpensive cost, competing closure mechanisms have also been employed. For example, plastic lock-tabs are frequently used to close plastic bags containing perishable bakery items. Lock-tabs are easy to apply and offer the packager a surface upon which information can be printed. While generally acceptable, lock-tabs are relatively expensive. As an alternative, manufacturers have employed tape closure systems in which the neck of the bag is captured by a piece of one-sided tape. Tape closure systems offer the cost benefits of twist-ties and the ability to print information on the closure provided by lock-tabs.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,484,342, entitled “Apparatus and Method for Automated Tape Closure” issued Feb. 3, 2009 to Jimmy Frazier and assigned to Burford Corporation discloses a tape closure device for securing the neck of a bag with an adhesive film and a non-adhesive backing. Although well-suited for many packages, the method and apparatus disclosed in the Frazier '342 patent are not easily configured for vertically oriented packages. Vertically oriented packages are commonly used for granular or pelletized products that would tend to fall out of horizontally oriented packages. For example, ice, dog food, produce, hard candy and pretzels are commonly packaged in vertically oriented bags.
Many prior art closure systems function by applying a hog ring around the neck of the vertically oriented bag. This method of closing vertically oriented bags suffers from several deficiencies. First, the metal hog ring presents a health risk if accidentally ingested or masticated. Second, the metal hog ring is incapable of bearing identifying indicia. As food contamination concerns arise, more emphasis is being placed on the ability to track food from information contained on packaging materials. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved closure system for vertically oriented bags and packages that overcomes these deficiencies of the prior art.